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“Supergirl” Has Her Own “Superman III” Moment in “Falling”

SPOILER WARNING: This article contains spoilers for tonight’s episode of “Supergirl,” “Falling,” which has not aired on the west coast as of publication.

If you’re reading this, here’s hoping you’ve already caught tonight’s episode of “Supergirl.” If not, this would be a good time to stop reading and check back with us when you’ve caught up.

In “Falling,” Kara comes up against one of her toughest enemies yet: herself. Early in the episode, Supergirl stumbles across some red kryptonite (here created and inadvertently deployed by a surprisingly remorseful Maxwell Lord), and it brings out some of the worst, most unpleasant impulses the heroine has otherwise buried. Some of these moments aren’t much fun — she goes toe to toe with Hank Henshaw, threatens Cat, has a distressingly ugly conversation with sister Alex, and generally finds a chance to be cruel to basically everyone in her life — but a few are. One such moment continues the playful knack that “Supergirl” has for referencing other stories in the “Superman” universe.

After the aforementioned showdown with Alex, Supergirl heads to a bar to blow off some steam. While we don’t see her take the shots that made for one of the best GIFs ever GIF-ed, the moment’s a clear and unexpected homage to “Superman III,” Richard Lester’s oft-maligned 1983 film that sees the hero battling his own personal demons after coming in contact with a synthetic, man-made Kryptonite. Kara runs into quite a lot of trouble after the brief scene, but while she’s in the bar, she’s just an alien girl venting her frustrations one flicked peanut and exploded liquor bottle at a time.